Prologue

There are three popular types of plugs for EVSE charging with AC current (home current): Type1 (J1772), Tesla US proprietary connector (a variant of Type 1) and Type2 (often called Mennekes).

1. Type1 (J1772)

Type1 is popular in Japan, so it is common in Japanese cars. Also, in countries where single phase power is common home AC source (like USA), Type1 is in use.. Even US Tesla uses Type1 charging, while using proprietary socket – but there is no problem to use Type1 charger with an adapter, included with any Tesla. So home charging of US Tesla = charging of Type1 car.

Type1 has a simple limitation – it is a single (one) phase system. All the current must be drained from one phase, even if you have 3-phase system in your home/garage.

1.1.Type1 cable included with the car (factory cable)

Because people can have different limitations of current per phase (protected by fuse), home charger included with the car must accomplish the lowest common current limit. This is 10A. Such current means that the fuse protecting the charging circuit is not B10 (10A fuse), but B13 – to avoid loading circuit to 100%.

So if your single phase wall socket is protected with B13 fuse or any higher amperage – there is no problem to drain 10A = about 2,2 kW of power.

Now you may ask – why 2,2 kW, and not 230 V * 10 A = 2,3 kW? Simple. Loading home circuits with a current like 10A causes voltage drop of about 10V so your real power is 10 A * 220 V = 2,2 kW.

1.2. Type 1 accelerated cable

As communication protocol for Type1 permits higher currents than 10A, there are many aftermarket cables with current of 16A or even up to 32A. Of course setting the amperage too high causes the fuse to break the circuit, or in the worst scenario – a fire is possible. Standard Schuko or similar home socket is theoretically capable to do 16A, but all depends on cables behind. So for amperages higher than 10A it is important to have a dedicated circuit (or at least a perfect insurance for house and good luck). Charging with single phase at 16A will cause voltage drop of about 10-15V (of course less if we have dedicated line with thick cables) so real power will be around 3,3 kW.

Important: NEVER connect your car with any EVSE cable through retractable extension cord, as induction will generate huge voltage losses and generally may be dangerous.

Disadvantages of accelerated cables (like 16A cables) are simple: overloading power sources with high amperages causes voltage drop and the overall efficiency is lower. Also, heat losses reduce overall efficiency and increase cost of charging – as up to 10% of energy may be converted directly to heat in wall cables due to high amperage.

1.3. Type 1, Type 2 & Tesla US dual phase charger

Such charger (Accelev) must have 3-phase connection. Also it is not a simple cable that controls charging, but it is a high-efficient AC/AC converter, that builds one „super-phase” from two normal AC phases. Such „super-phase” has slightly higher nominal voltage and dynamic voltage stabilization against load, enabling faster charging even in current limited cars. It is still portable, but heavier, than simple EVSE cable.

For average European house, where 3-phase power is delivered, protection fuse is B16 (16A) or 20A. Usually higher power may be possible, for extra cost. So max charging speed may be 16A per one phase.

As a simple example we can compare charging speed of empty Nissan Leaf battery with double on-board charger. We have a house with B16 or B20 protection, 3-phase 400V is delivered to the house. Such power supply is common in Sweden, Germany, Poland, Denmark etc.

As standard charging method in USA is Type 1, Tesla uses the same protocol for AC charging, except that they use proprietary design of plug & socket (but connections are 1:1). In Europe, where 3-phase power delivery is common and max. amperage is much lower than in USA, owners suffer with slow charging speed. It is enough to say that factory EVSE cable delivered with Tesla US will charge the same Tesla in Europe with “astonishing” speed of 6-8 km/h (2.0 kW or less).

With dedicated Accelev (with proper Tesla plug) or with standard Accelev + Tesla Type 1 adapter you can see speeds of charging like 30 km/h – at home. Without any special high amps installation.

So +80 km over the night, or +300 km… The decision is simple.

Please note that Tesla dedicated version of Accelev uses Tesla plug and it can be used to charge other Type 1 cars only with Tesla Type 1 adapter (see photo)!

Tesla dedicated Accelev will be a bit slower for cars other than Tesla (comparing to standard Accelev) or even, in some circumstances it can refuse to charge a car, as it is especially designed for Tesla and focused on fastest possible Tesla USA charging.

2. Type 2 (Mennekes)

Type 2 is a simple evolution of Type 1 that enables using more than one AC phase within same protocol and communication rules. There is no oblige to use all these phases, so one, two or three can be connected. Cars can accept current from more than one phase in case when equipped with multi-phase charger (that means in most cases that they have two or three separate chargers for every phase installed onboard).

As you can simply check in table in section 3, where most EV and PHEV cars with their charging capabilities specifications are listed – almost all Type 2 cars use single phase 3,6 kW charger (16A max). Two phases are used solely in Q7 e-Tron, three phases can show their potential in Tesla, Renault Zoe and newest version (2017+) of BMW i3 (older use single phase charger).

Accelev is compatible with most of actual EV and PHEV cars with good gains of speed. As delivery cable (cable from Accelev to car) is replaceable, so you can have and change Type 1 to Type 2 (or even to Tesla US) connectors.

3. Table of EV and PHEV cars along with charging capabilities

Table below consists of most of known EV and PHEV cars, number of phases and type of plug they use, max charging power theoretical (gross) and approximated real (net), and gain of speed, while using 2-phase Accelev EVSE instead of 16A aftermarket charging cable.

Colors represent:

Green – perfect gain for Accelev over other chargers

Pale green – good gain for Accelev over other chargers

Orange – not applicable or slower than direct EVSE connection.

In simple words: If you live in Europe, or other region where energy delivering for private separate properties bases on 3-phase 400V or similar system – green will mean “must have” – you will accelerate 2 or more times your charging (for Outlander PHEV there is a special trickery to accelerate charging more than the numbers show – see below to paragraph 4). Pale green – 20% acceleration, no phases overload, orange – no idea to use Accelev (no gain). Red – incompatible.

The last column shows 3h charge with 16A EVSE as a time of same charge for Accelev – so you can see time savings (beside of other advantages like lower phase loads). Time saving versus factory 10A charger is not presented (Accelev is 2-3 x faster than any factory 10A EVSE cable).

Brand

Type / Max power

Phases used

Max real power

Max real power at 16A

Max real power with Accelev 6.0kW

Gain of speed [%]

3 h charge will be now witd Accelev:

Audi A3 e-tron

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Audi Q7 e-Tron

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Audi Q7 e-Tron

Type 2 / 7.2kW

2

6,8

3,4

BMW 225xe PHEV

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

BMW 330e PHEV

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

BMW i3

Type 2 / 7.2kW

1

6,8

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

BMW i3 2017+

Type 2 / 11kW

3

11,0

11,0

BMW i8

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

BMW X5

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Chevrolet Volt

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Citroen C-Zero

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Fiat 500e

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Honda Accord PHEV

Type 1 / 7.2kW

1

6,8

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Hyundai IONIQ

Type 2 / 7.2kW

1

6,8

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Hyundai IONIQ PHEV

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Kia Soul EV

Type 1 / 7.2kW

1

6,8

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Kia Optima PHEV

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Kia Niro PHEV

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Mercedes B-Class Electric

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Mercedes s550 PHEV

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Mercedes C350 PHEV

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Mitsubishi i-MieV

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

Type 1 / 3.3kW

1

3,0

3,0

3,6

19,6

2h

Nissan Leaf single charger

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Nissan Leaf

Type 1 / 7.2kW

1

6,8

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Nissan Leaf 2018+ EU

Type 2 / 7.2kW

1

6,8

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Nissan e-NV 200

Type 1 / 7.2kW

1

6,8

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Peugeot iOn

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Renault Fluence

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Renault Kangoo Electric

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Renault Zoe

Type 2 / 43kW

3

40,0

11,0

Porsche Cayenne S E-hybrid

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Porsche Panamera S E-hybrid

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 30m

Tesla Model S

Type 2 / 22kW

3

21,0

11,0

Tesla Model S 2016+

Type 2 / 16kW

3

16,0

11,0

Tesla Model X

Type 2 / 22kW

3

21,0

11,0

Tesla Model X 2016+

Type 2 / 16kW

3

16,0

11,0

Tesla Model S USA

Type 1 / 22kW

1

21,0

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Tesla Model S 2016+ USA

Type 1 / 16kW

1

16,0

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Tesla Model X USA

Type 1 / 22kW

1

21,0

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Tesla Model X 2016+ USA

Type 1 / 16kW

1

16,0

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Toyota Prius Plug-in

Type 1 / 2.0kW

1

2,0

2,0

2,3

16,3

2h 35m

Toyota Prius IV Plug-in

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 35m

Opel Ampera E

Type 2 / 7.2kW

1

6,8

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Opel Ampera

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 35m

Volkswagen e-Golf

Type 2 / 7.2kW

1

6,8

3,4

6,0

74,4

1h 40m

Volkswagen Golf GTE

Type 1 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 35m

Volkswagen e-up!

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 35m

Volvo XC90

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 35m

Volvo V60 PHEV

Type 2 / 3.6kW

1

3,4

3,4

3,7

16,3

2h 35m

4. Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV special case

PHEV on-board charger limits current at 14A, so typical power delivered to empty battery is about 3 kW max (with factory cable it is 2.0 kW or so).

During charging, PHEV has two special periods, used to prebalancing, with length of about 15 minutes, where charging is reduced to 0,2 kW (10x slower). This prebalancing has some sense, if you focus on charging battery a bit (like up to max 80%). There is no reason to do that (and loose time) if you need your car quickly charged, and final balancing can be processed overnight.

Accelev cancels both these periods, and postpones prebalancing to the last, slow phase of charging. This saves a lot of time – for example with 16A charger you will measure about 2.2 kW charged within first hour (first prebalancing occur after 10-20 minutes from start of charging of empty battery). And with Accelev – 3,5 kW.

This explains additional time gain for Accelev – it saves about 25 minutes (slightly less than half an hour) extra due to postponing prebalancing to the last charging phase (night phase).

This is valid for all PHEV model years – 2013- 2018.

5. Conclusion

Using 2-phase charger in an average European house, where 3-phase 16A or similar power is delivered, gives an opportunity to double charging speed without high amperage and thus – heat loses (ecology & costs cut). It is fast, safer and efficient.

For Tesla US imports 2-phase charger gives similar speeds like EU Tesla can have from home 3-phase connection – so it is a “must have” for them – 3 x acceleration of charging is worth it.

6. Postscriptum – what do I use at home and why

This will be more private… I live in a village where power supply is not as it should be. If I measure voltage in wall sockets, it is usually 210V (it should be 230…). Ok, many new houses, no new energy transformers nor lines.

My fuses at energy meter are C20 (3 – phase, installed by energy supplier) and in home – B16. So theoretically I can take 16 A from one phase – but if I charge EV car with 16A charger and my wife switches on even a lamp, PC or so – fuse switches off.

Please do not laugh, but while charging my wife’s Leaf with factory cable - charging power was 1.8 kW/h because of low voltage (do you believe you have 230+V in your wall sockets? Check with voltage meter – my Swedish friend was so proud of their power grid until he measured his voltage – 215 V..). So for Leaf it is 18-20 hours to charge it fully with balancing from zero (and girls love animals, especially turtles at the dashboard;) And we have also Outlander PHEV and Tesla. Where to connect them?

So I have invented Accelev. I have Accelev 5kW. It is enough for me, as I have 16A protection. Now, with phases monitoring I charge my wife’s car with 5 kW/h, and my Outlander with 3 hours max (see paragraph 4 for explanation). And we still use electric cooker, boiler, etc. No risk of blackout. All monitored by my Accelev.

If you focus on max speed – Accelev 6 kWh is for you. If you focus on low load per phase – Accelev 5kWh is a perfect compromise.

7. Questions and FAQ

If you have any questions – no problem – ask me. I may answer in few days as I’m overloaded catching Elon Musk with his ideas ;)

Common FAQ are below – maybe you will find your question below?

What is the main advantage of Accelev over all other chargers?

It loads equally two phases. You do not need to have special, more expensive energy connection to your home. It charges with speed equal to 22-28A of ordinary charger within much lower current (amperes) limit per phase.

Explanation of Accelev pros and cons for 3,6kW onboard chargers.

Of course with such onboard charger, you cannot load much faster with Accelev (you will have 10% speed gain over aftermarket 14/16A single phase charger), but you will not load your electric grid on one phase so much - as the load will be divided equally into two phases. Comparing to factory delivered EVSE, you will charge much faster (as factory EVSE amperage is set to 10A or so) - expect up to 50% faster charging.Conclusion: 3,6kW (single) onboard chargers will benefit with 10% faster charging (than any other EVSE in the market) and 50% less load per phase. Of course in future, with a double-charger equipped car - it will show it's full potential.

I have 440V 60Hz 3-phase power (USA) – can I use Accelev?

Yes, there is no problem to use it. It will load one phase by about half of end current.

Is voltage boost to 250V+ dangerous some way? I see this on Accelev screen.

No. It helps to pass more power without additional heating of charger and onboard charger. Also it reduces charging time and is one of advantages of Accelev over all other chargers. The nominal supply voltage is 230 V +10%/−6% (standard normative), so up to 253V it is absolutely normal. Most electric cars accept voltages up to 265V.

Why Outlander PHEV charges with Accelev only 3.6 kW, not 6 kW?

Speed (amperes) is controlled by on-board chargers. For PHEV it is 14A, for Leaf with single charger it is 16A (4.0 kW with Accelev), and with double charger – it will be 24A (6 kW). It is still 20% faster than any EVSE 1-phase cable due to voltage boost.

Is 24A from Accelev equal to 24A from ordinary charger?

No. It is equal to 28A from ordinary charger because of voltage boost. Literally you need 28A ordinary EVSE cable to have equal speed, except Outlander PHEV (see next question).

Accelev has a special charging procedure for Outlander PHEV. Why?

PHEV uses twice (at empty battery and at almost full battery) kind of pre-balancing. This means it stops charging (exactly charges with <0.2A) for about 25 minutes in total. This makes time of charging with any charger longer by these 25 minutes. Accelev reduces this time to about 2 min, increasing speed of charging from zero to full.

Is charging with speeds of 5 or 6 kW dangerous for battery?

No. All cars won’t suffer with that speed. During driving they are drained 10-30 x faster.

Why dual phase Accelev is not using 30A charging?

As most of 3-phase home grids in Europe have 16A protection per phase and about 14A permitted load, so using 11,5-13A from any of two phases is a good idea. We avoid overloading them.

Why don’t you offer 3-phase charger?

It will be available – we work on it. Also 2-phase Accelev owners would be able to buy extension module for 3-rd phase. It will be 8kW power in total (250V, 32A). So having 24A Accelev you will be able to expand it to 36A 3-phase in the future, when extension is ready.

It’s because voltage boost uses some more ampers, so they are not lost. 27A at 230V equals to 24A at 250V. Efficiency of energy conversion is about 96% so we have 24A, 250V at output.

So nothing is lost :)

Dynamic current control – how does it work?

Oh, this is simple – it monitors voltage. As voltage drop against load is a common known process, Accelev reduces charging speed within some limits, when it detects voltage drop at any phase. This means Accelev tries to avoid overloading phases, when you start something energy-consuming at same phase(s), that Accelev uses. Not perfect, but good to avoid fuses punch and blackout, when your wife starts their MegaWatt Rocket Hair Dryer while you charge your EV car to commute next day.

WARNING: GEEKS QUESTION: Do you use 250V Powercon Neutrik connectors?

No. We buy connectors that look very similar, but they have 500V 20A certification. Color of connector does not mean the same as colors in Neutrik connectors, as producer is different. You are safe, our connectors have proper certifications.

Surprisingly not only one invented circle. Also not only one Neutrik uses circle-round connectors.